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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Just dropped off the framed artwork at Altered Esthetics for the Just Add Ink show, sitting within two pretty (-easily-attained-at-your-local-Menards) frames. Excited for the gallery opening, which is August 8th, Friday, at 7 PM, and especially excited for August 20th, because I plan to be, unfortunately, not at the artist discussion there, but instead I'll be happily up north somewhere fumbling in a canoe and or kayak, getting sunburnt and turning 23. Disappointed I can't be there for that, though.

To print the 300-some physical copies for the actual cookbook (which you see them collating like champs here) I fired up the Pendergast Machine- offset press Maisie - with a full ream of 8 and a half by 11's. I ended up with about 400-something actually acceptable ones. Go Wikipedia how much a ream holds and you'll understand why I also have a bunch of pretty screw-ups to show you below.

In any case, running the press for the first time on my own was, of course, fraught with danger. I've more than once woken myself up in the middle of the night to go out and make sure the rollers are night-latched and disengaged, when I know I did it before going to bed. Did a couple of fake-out runs just setting it up, and, without inking up or anything, just running it. First actual attempt was disastrous and ended about ten minutes after hitting the paper feed engage with the fountain pouring everywhere and me running around the empty garage with ink coating my forearms and parts and paper scattered on surfaces everywhere. Second was similar, but ink only to my wrists. Third and fourth were actually, surprisingly, pretty successful.

The fifth time I had my sister Maddie and best friend Alicia sitting out with me (and trying to change my music to Britney Spears without my noticing) and after printing and clean up, Alicia stands up, after having sat a good five feet away, with black oil ink, the Hep C of art supplies, on her neon green shirt, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

You should all come see the show at Altered Esthetics, and the opening August 8th, 7 PM.